Public anger over AI data centers is growing across party lines, which is bad news for the tech companies and politicians pushing them.

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed data centers don't use water, then admitted minutes later that they do — they need it to cool the machines.
• Trump said towns that refuse data centers will end up "backwards and poor," and Republican Congressman Tim Burchett shrugged that he must be backwards and poor then.
• Three quarters of Americans say they'd oppose a new data center near their home, and the opposition is strongest in rural, conservative areas.
• Water bills and electric bills are rising in the towns where these centers get built, which is what's driving the protests.
• A pro-AI group backed by a $50 million war chest is preparing to fight local opposition in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Outlook: Expect a big money push to sell data centers to skeptical towns, with local fights over water and power in the coming months.